BBC World Service

Doctors in Sudan say the security forces have killed a protester during an anti-coup demonstration in the capital, Khartoum.

Activists had called for fresh rallies on Wednesday to demand the return of civilian rule.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said the person who was killed, who hasn't yet been identified, was hit in the head by a teargas canister then run over by a military vehicle.

The committee says that at least 117 demonstrators have been killed since the coup that overthrew Sudan's transitional government last October.

The UN says that at least 50 Malian civilians were killed in an army operation on 19 April, aided by what it called "foreign" military personnel.

The killings happened in Hombori municipality in the central Douentza region after a military convoy was targeted by a bomb, the UN's mission in Mali, Minusma, says.

"At least 50 civilians (including a woman and a child) were killed and more than 500 others arrested," Minusma said.

Mali's military has not yet responded, according to the Reuters news agency.

Minusma did not specify who the foreign fighters were, but Mali - which has been grappling with insecurity challenges - has previously been condemned by Western powers for working with Russian mercenaries.

World Cup-bound Morocco appoint former Wydad Casablanca boss Walid Regragui as their new national team coach.

South Africa's new franchise T20 competition will take precedence over Australia's Big Bash League when it comes to player availability, according to league commissioner Graeme Smith.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The Barcelona and Gabon footballer, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, has given his first account of a violent robbery at his home early on Monday.

The striker said the attackers had injured his jaw but he would recover "in no time".

Aubameyang called them "violent cowards" who had threatened his family and children "just to steal some stuff".

Barcelona said four armed men had broken in to the player's house and forced him to open a safe, before making off with some jewels.

There have been several break-ins in footballers' homes in Spain, but mostly when the stars have been playing.

Aubameyang is reported to be close to signing a deal with Chelsea to return to the English Premier League.

Read more here.

Image source, FBI

A US Roman Catholic nun who was kidnapped by armed men in Burkina Faso nearly five months ago has been freed.

Suellen Tennyson, who is 83, was taken hostage in the middle of the night in early April.

She was barefoot and left behind her glasses and blood pressure medication.

The bishop of the diocese where she served, Theophile Nare, said the nun was currently in a safe place and in good health.

He said he did not have any information on the conditions of her release.

The identity of the kidnappers is not known but several militant groups have carried out attacks in Burkina Faso.

Peter Jegwa
Lilongwe, Malawi

A former member of Malawi's electoral commission has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for failing to give way to a presidential convoy two years ago.

A court in the eastern city of Zomba found Linda Kunje guilty of instructing her driver to disregard police instructions to make way for a motorcade of the then newly elected President Lazarus Chakwera.

The driver, Jones Tewesa, was also found guilty of the same offence and will serve 15 months in prison.

Ms Kunje oversaw the 2019 presidential election which was annulled by the country's constitutional court because of irregularities, including the use of a correction fluid to tweak results.

Three years ago police arrested an ambulance driver for not giving way to the former president's convoy, but he was released without charge following a public outcry.

Cairo giants Al Ahly sack manager Ricardo Soares after two months in the job following a third-placed finish in the Egyptian Premier League.

There is shock at the death of a "true star-in-the-making" who was "on the verge of a breakthrough".

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

At least 48 people have died, external in the Democratic Republic of Congo's central province of Sankuru, following a cholera outbreak in the region, the privately-owned news website Actualites CD has reported.

According to local health officials, 401 cases of the disease were recorded between 15 and 21 August.

To contain the disease, health officials are working with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) to raise awareness among the local population.

According to the website, the province of Sankuru has also been dealing with other diseases such as measles, monkeypox, acute respiratory infections and meningitis.

On 12 August, Congolese health officials said they had recorded 69 cases of monkeypox , which was declared a global health emergency in July by the World Health Organization.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, Reuters

The Ethiopian government has accused Tigrayan forces of expanding the renewed fighting to different fronts, including along the country’s western borders with neighbouring Sudan.

A statement on Wednesday said new fronts had opened in the west after Tigrayan offensives in the east around the town of Kobo did not go according to plan.

There has not been a response from Tigrayan forces about these allegations.

However, a senior Tigrayan official, Getachew Reda, earlier accused Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government of wanting “to further internationalize the conflict” by sending “tens of thousands of troops” to neighbouring Eritrea.

The BBC has not independently confirmed either claim but this is a clear sign that the violence is deepening and expanding after it resurfaced last week shattering a five-month truce.

Some of the new fronts cited by the government are in the disputed region of western Tigray, controlled by regional forces from neighbouring Amhara and federal forces since the first round of fighting in late 2020.

Tigrayan forces want the return of the area to its pre-war status but Amhara forces also claim it - saying it was incorporated into Tigray when the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) was dominant in Ethiopia’s political landscape.

The ex-Paralympian is serving a 13-year sentence for the murder of his girlfriend nine years ago.

Lebo Diseko
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, AFP

Convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius is going to court to try and force authorities in South Africa to hold a parole hearing for him.

The Paralympic gold medallist is currently in prison for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013.

Pistorius shot Ms Steenkamp dead, when he fired four times through a locked toilet door.

He has always said that he mistook her for a burglar at his home in Pretoria.

At the heart of this is a disagreement about the start date of Pistorius’ prison sentence.

The Supreme Court of Appeal sentenced him to 13 years and five months for the murder of Ms Steenkamp - overturning a previous more lenient punishment.

Last year that same court ruled that his current term should be backdated to October 2014, when he was initially sentenced for the lesser charge.

Pistorius argues that this means he became eligible for parole in February 2021 and is taking authorities to court to force them to hold his parole hearing.

But the prison where he is being held argues Pistorius is only eligible for parole in March 2023, and says the court of appeal has given contradictory rulings.

The Department of Correctional Services spokesperson says it is "seeking a clarification on the minimum detention period for Mr Pistorius".

Former Liberian child soldier, Morris Matadi, is working with children trying to give them hope for the future.

Richard Kagoe
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, JUDICIARY

Lawyers of veteran Kenyan politician Raila Odinga, who is challenging the presidential election results, have alleged that there was systematic rigging in favour of the winning candidate, William Ruto, citing inconsistencies in the final tally.

Mr Odinga's lawyers made their submissions during Wednesday's Supreme Court hearing of their request to nullify Mr Ruto's victory, citing gross mismanagement of the election.

They told the court that the transmission system for the results forms was compromised by unauthorised access by known and unknown persons.

This led to manipulation of vote information during the transmission between polling stations and the national tallying centre.

They further argued that voters in Mr Odinga's support bases were disenfranchised because of technology hitches on voting day and postponement of elections.

Mr Ruto's legal team will offer its rebuttal later on Wednesday. The other five petitioners will also argue their case later.

Meanwhile, a recount of votes from 15 of the 46,000 polling stations is underway outside the courthouse as ordered by the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Patricia Oyella
BBC News, Kampala

Image source, UGANDAN ARMY

Uganda has started giving Ebola vaccines to its soldiers who are fighting against rebels in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

The exercise began last week and targets more than 10,000 members of the force fighting against the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) rebels.

So far, 6,200 Ugandan soldiers have been vaccinated.

The Ugandan army’s director of public health, Dr Francis Xavier Bakehena says the response from the troops has been good because they are aware of the threat Ebola poses.

The exercise will also cover soldiers manning border points with the DR Congo.

The World Health Organization has provided 12,000 vaccines from Merck. An additional 10,000 from Johnson and Johnson will also be available in weeks.

Front-line workers like health workers, customs and immigration officials will be vaccinated in the second phase of the exercise.

DR Congo confirmed a case of Ebola in Beni district, North Kivu province two weeks ago, six weeks after an outbreak was confirmed in Equateur province.

No imported case has been reported in Uganda so far but authorities have since stepped up surveillance and put 21 districts that border the DR Congo on high alert.

Sierra Leone captain Steven Caulker hopes to learn from his new manager Andrea Pirlo at Fatih Karagumruk to help with his long-term goal of becoming a coach.

Nichola Mandil
BBC News, Juba

Image source, Nichola Mandil/BBC

More than 200 soldiers died during the training at various camps in South Sudan prior to the graduation of the first batch of the unified forces on Tuesday, First Vice-President Riek Machar said on Tuesday.

Mr Machar said the soldiers succumbed to harsh weather conditions and other factors while speaking during the graduation ceremony in the capital, Juba.

Majority of those who died were from the former rebel groups - the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) and the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA).

“I know over 200 of your comrades have died in the 18 training centres – some died because of diseases as there was no medication, some died because of hunger as food was not available.

"Today I congratulate you for your endurance and perseverance,” Mr Machar told the graduating forces.

He said the graduation of the unified forces was an event people have been waiting for – as it gives hope to millions of refugees in neighbouring countries and displaced people in the country for them to return home.

More than 22,000 men and women comprising the national army and the national police service graduated from the training centres, according to a presidential decree read on the graduation day.

They are the first national armed forces to reflect South Sudan's ethnic diversity.

Richard Kagoe
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, JUDICIARY

The full hearing of the presidential election petition challenging the outcome of the 9 August presidential poll results kicked off this morning.

Lawyers representing one of the presidential candidates Raila Odinga are currently presenting their case seeking to nullify the declaration of William Ruto as president-elect.

They have six hours to argue their case.

Mr Ruto’s lawyers and those representing the electoral commission will also face the seven-judge bench later in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, scrutiny and recounting of votes in 15 polling stations where the credibility of the final tally was contested is also under way at the court house.

Kenyans are keenly following the televised petition hearing.

The verdict is expected to be out on 5 September.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Sudan's foreign ministry has summoned Ethiopian ambassador, Yibeltal Aemeru, after he accused Khartoum of violating diplomatic norms, the state-run Sudan News Agency (Suna), external has reported.

The ambassador had told local media that Ethiopian forces had shot down a plane carrying weapons for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces, which violated Ethiopian airspace through Sudan, the agency reported.

A director at the foreign ministry, Ambassador Fadl Abdallah Fadl, said the allegations "violates the normal diplomatic traditions".

Sudan had in the past denied Ethiopian claims that it supports the TPLF, which has been fighting the Ethiopian government in the northern Tigray region since November 2020.

The two countries are also embroiled in a dispute over the fertile al-Fashaga border region and also locked in a decade-long row over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.